The Call of the Wild Read Online Free PDF Page A

but they sure didn’t look like strangers now.
    ‘All set?’ Ryan called as Annabel got into position.
    She took hold of the towrope with one hand and gave Ryan the thumbs up with the other. I held my breath as the boat’s engine revved. I knew how hard this was going to be for her. But as the rope tightened, Annabel emerged from the water like some kind of sea nymph – upright, smiling and beautiful. I couldn’t believe it. She was up on her first go. Trust Annabel! She was gifted like that – just good at sporty things without even trying.
    Ryan punched the air. ‘Way to go!’
    Annabel cruised behind the boat like she’d been doing it all her life. Ryan couldn’t take his eyes off her as she soared across the water, her wet hair fluttering in the wind. He was still staring when she finally let go of the towrope, ending her wakeboard session gracefully, rather than spectacularly – like me. Then it was the guys’ turn. Marco was first up, handing his shades to Kimmi before getting into the water.
    ‘He’s so cute,’ Kimmi sighed as the boat took off.
    Marco had no trouble getting up. He flew across the water, showing off with twists and turns. Kimmi didn’t miss a second of his performance. If she wasn’t hooked on Marco before, she certainly was now. But it bothered me that he was so into himself.
    Saia wasn’t like that at all. He’d only been out a few times on Ryan’s boat and didn’t have Marco’s confidence. He didn’t do many tricks and he fell off a couple of times. But even when he did, he kept the same lovely grin on his face. Nothing seemed to annoy him, which made me like him even more. He was still smiling when he climbed back onto the boat. Water droplets were clinging to his lashes, bringing out the deep colour in his eyes. He looked so adorable.
    ‘You’re pretty good,’ I said, as he grabbed a towel and dried off.
    ‘Not really,’ Saia grinned. ‘Wait till you see this guy.’
    Ryan got in and showed us what wakeboarding was really about. He did jumps and turns and all sorts of tricks that I wouldn’t be able to do on land, let alone on the water. It was totally impressive.
    ‘He’s even hotter than I thought,’ Annabel whispered to me. ‘I am so going to kiss him next Saturday.’

    The sun was sinking and the whole harbour was bathed in a glorious golden light as we cruised back towards the marina. On the seat opposite me, Saia had his eyes closed, enjoying the last rays of the late afternoon sun. His skin seemed to be glowing, and I felt a tingle run down my spine just looking at him. Beside me, Kimmi seemed to be in a trance, her eyes on Marco, while Annabel was playing footsies with Ryan.
    ‘Can’t wait for the party,’ said Annabel. ‘It’ll be epic. Shame it’s a whole week away.’
    I smiled to myself. It sounded like Annabel was fishing for an invitation to see Ryan before the party.
    ‘Yeah, it’d be cool to do something before then,’ he said. ‘But I’ve got stuff on tomorrow and then we have training basically every afternoon next week. We’ve got a big rugby game next weekend, which we might win, if our coach doesn’t kill us first.’
    Saia groaned. ‘Oh, man. He’s crazy.’
    ‘He’s like some rabid dog when anyone does anything wrong,’ said Marco.
    Kimmi laughed, way too loudly, and smiled at Marco. ‘So, does his rabid-dog style get results?’
    Marco shrugged. ‘Well, we’ve won every game so far this year. So … I guess.’
    ‘Maybe we should come to watch you play next week, then,’ Kimmi said.
    Marco smiled. ‘Cool. It’ll be a close game. Might be a bit ugly, though. Can’t promise there won’t be any blood.’
    The guys all nodded.
    ‘What do you like about that game?’ Annabel asked. ‘Seems all you do is smash each other to bits.’
    ‘That’s why it’s fun,’ said Marco.
    The guys all laughed. I guess they had a different idea of fun from us. But I’d noticed they had a different idea about a lot of things.